Thursday, January 3, 2013

How to Make Your Resolutions STICK This Time

We are three days into 2013. Most folks are riding the high of a healthier lifestyle right now....

My eating was awesome today!

I totally killed that workout!

But the hard, cold truth is this: by the end of January, most folks' inner dialogue looks like this.....

Meal prep is a pain; I'll just grab some fast food every day!

It's too cold/too early/too late/I'm too tired to workout!

Sound familiar? If so, don't fret. We've all been there - you are definitely not alone.

So how can you make 2013 different from all the rest? How can you make your resolutions, goals, and objectives for this new year STICK?? Here are some tips:

Watch out with the "All or Nothing" approach.

You either eat perfectly clean or you completely binge - this is a resolution sabotage! If you've been eating well and then went out to dinner on a Friday night and had dessert, it is not the end of the world and you don't have to blow the rest of the weekend because of it. Start fresh with your next meal :)

Ease into it!

You don't have to do a complete 180 overnight. Pick a few habits that you can really focus on and put your energy into these smaller, more manageable changes.

Really, truly understand that it is a process.

If you can establish the mindset that this is a journey and you are trying to make being healthy a lifestyle, you will be ahead of the game!

Make your goals measurable.

Instead of saying "I want to lose weight and get healthy", make your resolutions quantifiable: I want to lose 1 pound per week for the first month, then blah blah, or I want to quit smoking, by decreasing my consumption by 1 cigarette per day until I'm at 0 cigs!

Make your goals public knowledge!

Don't keep your resolutions a secret. Put them on Facebook, tell your friends, family, and coworkers. Knowing that people are "watching you" is one of the best ways to set yourself up for success!

Surround yourself with people you want to be like.

Both in-person and within social media - make sure those that you are seeing/talking to on a daily basis are encouraging individuals who either have the success you want, or are on the same journey. We sponsor year-round challenge groups with this exact purpose and they have been wildly successful!